14 Mar 08 GISOL went from bad to worse while I was a customer
I signed up with GISOL in January of 2006. Back then, they still offered web hosting services instead of just scamming people for their money. But their servers kept going down, and when they were up, were very slow. I was constantly on the phone with GISOL support, trying to troubleshoot this or that. I quickly got fed up with it, and decided to move to another company.
That’s when the “fun” started. I couldn’t get a refund. I kept getting passed around from “department” to “department”. When it finally looked like a refund wasn’t going to be forthcoming from them during my lifetime, I started fraud proceedings with my bank, who is also the issuer of my credit card. Thank goodness my bank is sensible. I was able to print out my original blog post about GISOL, which had already garnered a few comments, and go from there.
Sure, GISOL tried to respond with fraudulent documentation that purported to show they were still hosting my sites and thus entitled to the money, but those documents were a joke. Even someone with only a basic knowledge of the Internet could figure out they were outright lies. So I put together my own response and analyzed and broke down every one of their lies, then sent my analysis back to the bank, who then confirmed that they would charge back the fraudulent charges (even though it was past the timeframe during which fraud proceedings could be started). Again, I can’t thank my bank (USAA) enough for their help with this.
I then had another hurdle to overcome. I’d done a very foolish thing — didn’t know it at the time, but it was still foolish. I’d purchased one of my domains through GISOL, and they were now holding it hostage. I tried to initiate transfer proceedings through my registrar, but it just wasn’t working out. They were blocking the transfer.
I shot off another batch of emails to all of their addresses, and got a response back from their Indian support team, who told me they would look into it. I responded to that email, and CC’ed GISOL’s administrative email accounts as well, to let them know that if they didn’t release my domain, I would contact ICANN and also retain the services of a lawyer. Within 2 weeks, the domain was transferred back to me.
Since then, I’ve heard countless stories from others about how GISOL has gone from bad to worse. I cannot believe they are still allowed to do business when all it seems they’re doing these days is scamming money from people’s credit cards. It’s a real shame. Stay away from them!
You can read more about GISOL in these two posts on my site:
My advice to all those who don’t know what to do, now that they’ve discovered fraudulent charges to their cards, is to fight them, and not to stop till they’re taken off. Let GISOL threaten you with collection agencies or whatever they want. They can’t do anything. And if they don’t stop harassing you, take them to small claims court or hire the services of a lawyer. I would also suggest writing to the congressman responsible for the Los Angeles area, which is where they’re based, to ask for action on this. Also write to the LA Mayor’s office.
But above all, fight the charges. If your credit card issuer isn’t willing to stand up for you, then you should stop using them.
Reader's Comments. (1)
Leave a Comment
Sorry, but due to Gisol trying to post comments, they are now being moderated. They will appear ASAP.
Thanks Raoul.
I can recommend Raoul’s site. There are lots and lots of comments about Gisol’s activities on there from ex-customers.
Mike.